Tennis : The Shanghai Masters 2016

Attention quickly shifts to the Shanghai Rolex Masters after victory for Great Britain’s Andy Murray in the China Open 2016. This might arguably be the most keenly contested Shanghai Masters 1000 tournament ever

Attention quickly shifts to the Shanghai Rolex Masters after victory for Great Britain’s Andy Murray in the China Open 2016. This might arguably be the most keenly contested Shanghai Masters 1000 tournament ever. The most notable absentee this year is the legendary Roger Federer who has taken the rest of the year off to get ready and fresh for the 2017 Tennis season. The world number 1 and heavy favorite, Novak Djokovic is back! He missed the China open due to an elbow injury and should be primed and ready to retain his title. To do so, he must rediscover some of his sharpness and mental strength which seemed lacking in the US Open final loss to world number 3, Stanislas Wawrinka. On his day, Stan the man will beat anyone in the top ten as evident in the US Open finals this year. Nobody really seems to have the antidote to the “Stanimal” back hand. Standing in the path of these 2 great aforementioned Tennis players is the world number 2 and China open winner, Andy Murray. The Scot has his eyes on becoming the number 1 player in the world as evident in his form. A 2 time winner of this event, he has what it takes to claim his third Shanghai Masters title. His tenacity, agility and powerful ground strokes serve as lethal weapon against any opponent. My fear for Andy might be fatigue. It has been a long season for the Scot culminating in his win in last week’s China Open, will he still have enough in the tank to win this tournament?

It’s very hard to believe world number 5 and former number 1 Rafael Nadal has never won the Shanghai Masters. It will be a tough ask for the Spaniard this year as he struggles with inconsistency. He got dumped out of the China Open by eventual finalist Igor Dimitrov. Will the hunger to lay his hands on this title be enough impetus for Rafa to go all the way?

Outside the top 5 players, Milos Raonic might stand the best chance of causing an upset. The Canadian’s reliable service game is a strong part of his game. His weakness lies in his rallies. There are also dark horses like Gael Monfils and the Aussie, Nick Kyrgios who can spring surprises any given day. With this mouth- watering list of players on array, who is your money on to claim the 2016 Shanghai Masters title?